Jets Aren't Exactly Fleet of Foot

As the NFL Got Faster, the Jets Slowed in 2011; They'll Likely Look to Add Speed in the 2012 Draft

By

Chris Herring

February 27, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS—Some of the most memorable images from the Jets' failed 2011 season will be the ones where they couldn't catch an opposing player who was on his way to the endzone for a backbreaking touchdown.

There was the 70-yard score by Oakland's Darren McFadden, who had enough speed to beat New York to the outside before turning upfield. There was the Denver game, where the Jets got "Tebowed," allowing the clutch quarterback to scamper for a 20-yard touchdown run in the game's final minute. And then there was the season-altering catch Giants receiver Victor Cruz made before maneuvering around three Jets defenders and turning it into a 99-yard score.

ENLARGE

Jeremy Kerley impressed despite being near the bottom of his draft class in the 40 time.
Associated Press

On a handful of occasions, the Jets were left in the dust by what often looked like faster teams.

"People are saying it's turned into basketball on grass, and there's some truth to that," said Les Snead, the St. Louis Rams' new general manager, at the league's scouting combine.

With that in mind, last season's Jets were like a team that preferred a halfcourt scheme as opposed to an uptempo, fastbreak one. And that trend began with their 2011 draft picks.

The club's draft class was the only one in the NFL over the past five years that lacked a single player who finished in the top half of his position's 40-yard-dash. Even if not by design, the picks were part of an offseason in which the Jets got slower as a team whereas the rest of the NFL—taking advantage of league rules that benefit wide-open offenses—got faster.

The retrospective is interesting when considering how the 2011 Jets often appeared to lack team speed.

ENLARGE

Derrick Mason was just slow—and then was released by the Jets last year.
Associated Press

Offensively, fans groaned and analysts noted the lack of explosion on the outside—a notion that made sense, given that the Jets finished last season with a league-low of three pass plays of 40 yards or more (They were also one of just six NFL teams to finish the year without a run of 40 yards or more).

The lack of big-play production, in some ways, likely stemmed from the team's free-agency moves. New York opted against bringing back deep threat Braylon Edwards, who was 28, and instead signed Plaxico Burress, who'd gone nearly three years without playing a professional game and was about to turn 34. Additionally, the club pursued and would later sign 37-year-old wideout Derrick Mason, a move that prompted 29-year-old Jerricho Cotchery to ask the Jets for his walking papers.

Burress was effective in the redzone, scoring eight touchdowns, but had little success in the middle of the field and is a longshot to return for a second season with the club; Mason was unproductive as the team's third receiver and was traded to Houston after Week 5. He's since announced his retirement.

Even on the defensive side of the ball, where the Jets were solid and ranked fifth in total yards, New York had glaring issues when it came to speed.

To be sure, it's not all the 2011 draft class's fault, and the 40-yard dash isn't the end-all be-all of combine drills. The times players post can often be written off as unimportant at a number of positions where speed isn't vital, and perhaps it's just as important to note: A fantastic athlete that posts freakish combine numbers, like a Vernon Gholston, can turn out to be an on-field bust.

In fact, a pair of players from New York's six-player draft class are already paying some dividends. Coaches were enamored by first-round pick Muhammad Wilkerson's rookie season, in which he collected three sacks and 49 tackles as a starting defensive end. And slot receiver Jeremy Kerley (29 catches for 314 yards and one touchdown) was one of the club's bright spots and team officials believe the fifth-rounder has an enormous upside.

But speed was an issue with the Jets even in the season-opener against Dallas, when Jason Witten easily beat safety Eric Smith for a 64-yard catch and run, to an ugly December contest in which Philadelphia tight end Brent Celek lit up the Jets for 156 yards and a touchdown. New York's safeties often didn't have the speed or agility to keep up with the league's new breed of tight ends. And matchup problems against such pass-catchers often forced Bart Scott, the team's 31-year-old, $8-million-per-year linebacker, to the sidelines in favor of a corner or quicker linebacker.

Coach Rex Ryan said he "admired" the play of his safeties and that he thought Jim Leonhard (ruptured patellar tendon), Brodney Pool (sprained MCL) and Eric Smith (torn meniscus) —all of whom missed considerable time or played through painful injuries—"gave everything they had." But with Smith being the only one of that group under contract heading into next season, Ryan said he'd be looking to bolster the position through free agency and the draft.

In addressing the team's speed, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said there were clearly times where a little more of a burst could have made the difference. "You can look certainly at the Giant game and the Bronco game where we just didn't get it done, probably for a lot of reasons," he said. "With that said, we've put in a lot of resources into our corners, and we're always looking at matchups and why we lost those eight games. Without question, [speed] will be a factor in that sort of decision-making."

The Jets seem poised to draft speedier players this year, if for no other reason than what their needs are. They need, in no particular order, an outside linebacker with enough agility to rush the passer or stay with a quick tight end; a safety that's good in coverage; a downfield threat at receiver; and a change-of-pace running back to complement the bruising Shonn Greene. The only need they have that doesn't require speed is a right tackle.

"I'd expect them to take faster guys than they did last year," said Charley Casserly, a scouting combine and draft analyst with the NFL Network. "You can't afford to have a featured pass rusher or a first-round safety who's not fast."

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